Wisteria in Zone 3 - 4

maggiemuffin360May 3, 2007

Has anyone tried and, more importantly, had any luck growing wisteria in Zone 3 or 4?

I was going through some of the web sites, making my wish list, and found this on the Dominion site: WISTERIA MACROSTACHYA Glycine Blue Moon - Wisteria Blue Moon. Supposedly hardy to Zone 4 & -40 temps.

Seriously thinking of giving it a try. One side of our back yard is a sunny & protected location, might be a good spot for this plant. However, its rather pricey, so would appreciate your thoughts.

My - You're a brave one!! I'd be surprised if it would live - but then what do I know? LOL

Sure would be beautiful - I just LOVE Wisteria. I've heard that it can be invasive down in the warmer zones? Not sure if I'm remembering correctly. So anything that vigorous is something you'd think could come back quickly after our harsh winters. So if you get it to survive - it might work out well over the summer. I think it would be gorgeous!!!

About three years ago I bought two Wisteria vines from Rice Creek Gardens. I planted them on either side of a pergola.
They bloomed the last two years; what I would describe as nondescrip flowers. This year I cut it all back as it had taken over the structure, forcing the boards on the sides apart. I agree I think it could be very invasive.
It also produced long seed pods. If I recall correctly I think it was Blue Moon.

Okay - I'm convinced & going to give it a try.
I'm not one to pamper plants either, but every now and then one comes along that intrigues me. This wisteria seems to be one of those.
Tried to find it at a local nursery, but no luck, so will go ahead and order it.

Two other good nurseries on the internet that offer wisteria for zone 3-4 are Greer Gardens and Rare Find Nursery. I am growing "Blue Moon" on a trellis bench, and "Lawrence" up into a flowering crab apple tree that is quite open to sunlight. "Blue Moon" blooms at an early age, and "Lawrence" has very delicate lacy leaves. They are both doing very well in my zone 4 yard.

If "Blue Moon" is doing so very well in zone 4, then maybe zone 3 isn't such a long shot, though we often just don't get the summer heat units in these parts and I think that does make a difference. I have a large potted "Blue Moon" that had flowered freely this past summer and come spring, will get planted out against the protected south side of the house. I had liked the plant so much that I picked up a second one at a local greenhouse ... the autumn clearance price was a mere 6 or 7 bucks!

Well, I went ahead and planted Blue Moon last summer. Didn't really amount to much the first summer, of course - we'll see if it survives the winter. It's nicely mulched and protected and under a cozy (and deep) blanket of snow already.

Blue Moon should bloom in any zone if the plants survive, since it produces flowers on new wood, not old wood like the oriental varities. Since it is supposedly good to -40 F., these should hopefully be OK in zone 3. The first year after planting, growth is somewhat slow. The second year from my experience, it grows like mad.

Good luck dirtyfingernails. Just make sure you don't give it much nitrogen. You might try giving it some fertilizer high in potassium and phosporus and low in nitrogen made for flowering plants or tomatoes. (Course, you probably already knew this.)

I'm itchin to take my "Blue Moon" wisteria out of winter storage and plant it up against the house. Had my camera been working, last summer I would have taken photos of the awesome large flower clusters ... I hope it flowers freely this year.

One other note regarding growing Wisteria Sinensis (Chinese Wisteria in zone 4). For about 5 years I had two identical Chinese Wisteria growing against a garden shed. Every year they both winter killed down to the roots. Then one year one of the plants took off and grew much larger vines than the other one. That year it did not die back to the ground, even though the other one did. The following year, the one that did not die back really took off and grew vigorously, growing up onto the roof of the shed. Ever since then, it has survived every winter. The other one that did not grow so well is finally starting to do well, and is surviving the winters. I think once they develop a root system big enough to grow larger vines, they have a better chance of surviving our cold winters. Now I'm starting to prune them like many have suggested, similar to a fruiting tree in order to force them to bloom. We'll see what happens in zone 4!

So, has anyone had success with Blue moon wisteria in zone 3? The reason I ask is that this plant now seems more commonly available this year (I even saw it at Superstore) and I wonder if it's worth it? If your plant has survived has it bloomed? Are the leaves attractive enough even without the blooms?

Glen, i was at Margaret's house last weekend and i'm pretty sure the wisteria was still alive. I don't remember if she said it bloomed or not, though. I see that follow-ups are being emailed to her, so she'll probably answer herself soon.

Glen, the wisteria lives!
It isn't huge and hasn't bloomed yet, but is full of leaves right now - seems to take a long time to get established. Just realized that it is four years old now.
By the way, its weird - I got an email with Marcia's post but not the previous ones...??

I just planted two Wisteria macrostachya 'Blue Moon' vines, beside a proposed new covered bridge.( I have the poles in the ground).
I was wondering if 6X6X8 foot posts would be strong enough to hold these vines?
I didn't have high phosphorous fertilizer handy so I just planted them in a mixture of sand and soil.The soild is clay about two feet below? Any suggestions?

Count me in on the "Wisteria in cold zones" experiment. I purchased one last month from Superstore. Definitely healthy and decent sized. Felt sorry for it as it stood in the pot for the past month until I decided where to plant it.

It sounds like it will definitely outgrow my trellis, but then I plan to train it along the fence and maybe up the carport. As for it blooming, maybe they need to be a certain age? The nursery tag doesn't really address that. I love the foliage though, tropical-like.

By the way, My (five or) six year old arctic beauty kiwi (male) has just started to get it's colorful pink/white/green leaves this spring. That nursery tag said the plant may not get it's colorful foliage until after year two and I had given up on it getting colorful foliage. It definitely is growing faster as it gets older too.

I am growing 3 'Blue Moon' wisteria vines that are going on their 4th year. There are a couple hundred racemes this year that are just starting to flower. We had a warmer than normal winter, but it still got down past -20 F. I had no winter die back of ANY vines on my 'Blue Moon' plants. However, my 2 chinese wisteria plants that I've had for about 15 years had serious die back, even though they have come through colder winters before.

Hi everyone I've had 2 "Blue moon"Wisteria for the last two years in ONE GAL POTS buried in the ground over the last winter. they are both growing quickly and I'll have to find a spot at the new place to permamantly put them' The pics of the blooms looks wonderful.
Take care Lois

How did people's 'Blue Moon' wisteria do this summer? Mine had grown vigorously, though with the summer being so very cool, the new growth was very green and unripe when hard frost had arrived the other night ... so, I had protected it from such. The plant had given one bloom cluster in early summer and I recently could see new clusters forming that would have flowered had we received any real warmth this summer. I'm yet unsure of how well this plant is suited to this climate when it doesn't get the chance to properly harden off.

My plant was new this year, but even so it's now covering a six foot high trellis and beyond. We had a bit of frost last night, though being right against the fence it may not have been affected (some plants frozen were in the centre of the yard.) I haven't checked if the wood on it is ripe yet, but some plants don't seem to ripen their wood until late.

Anyone planning on winter protection? From what I gather winter may kill the plant to snow/ground level?

I'm sure my plant will freeze bad badly if these green stems soon do not harden up. Last winter, I had laid the plant down to the ground where it had been heaped over with snow and came through very well ... though, late summer of 2009 had been very hot and the plant well hardened off, this summer was so dang coooool in Alberta! I'll again lay the wisteria down, as its little problem to do so and will likely help maintain much more wood than if I left it standing.

Wanted to now ask folks how their 'Blue Moon' wisteria had managed to survive the winter? This heat ( 28 C today ) has certainly kicked my plant into gear and it's throwing all kinds of new growth and even a few flower buds here and there.

I'm on Long Island in NY and would love to create a Tuscan feel to back yard dining...so I am going to give Wisteria a try along a back fence...sending out a thank you to everyone's tips...will keep you posted. Not sure what my zone is, our winters run 15-30 degrees F, when cold, for the most part.

From the zone map, it appears that Long Island is zone 7, unless you're smack dab in the middle...in which case it is zone 6b.
After reading this thread, I think I'm going to have to find a Blue Moon wisteria!

Nonie ... wisteria will be an absolute breeze to establish in your climate, as compared to the Canadian prairie. You'll also be able to select from a long list of varieties.

My 'Blue Moon' wisteria has been very enjoyable this season. Although, it has not given me a heck of a lot of blooms, these have been large and sweetly fragrant. The plant is a beauty well worth the additional attention given to it.

My wisteria is now in its third season and it isn't doing very much. It it bushy and healthy, but even now in July it's only about a foot tall. To be fair to the plant, it was transplanted after surviving the first winter, so it's not exactly fully established. I'm not really disappointed however, I find it very neat that I'm able to grow the plant at all and I'm sure it will do better with time.

The wisteria as of today as it nears full bloom Unfortunately, the photos always make the flowers appear smaller than what they actually are. Despite being touted as zone 3 hardy, apparently few are having success with this plant on the Canadian prairies (please let me know otherwise!) I do coddle it rather much, though it's a small price to pay for the enjoyment it brings to us and the surprise delight of visitors.

The problem with wisteria is it requires a long WARM growing season, otherwise the new growth is left unripened and freezes off. 'Blue Moon' is claimed to have been tested hardy to -40, though apparently only under certain conditions. Because the vine is so flexible, I lay the thing down and cover over with just a bit of peat moss, the ripened wood easily winters over, though the green stuff perishes.

Terry your wisteria is amazing!!! I cant believe you are having success with it in the Edmonton area. Did you buy it as a fairly large plant??? The reason I am asking is because I bought my Blue Moon as a smaller/medium sized plant and I think its only flowered the following spring only. Mine seems to die to ground almost every year and I am about to pull it out cause there is no point in having it if it doesnt flower.

Also, how are your butterfly bushes doing? My other one died again!!! I can only seem to keep them for 1-2 years. They are not very hardy! However I do not mulch them just put copious amounts of snow...

Okay, better lighting in these photos to show the wisteria to proper effect.

Andre, yes, the plant was about 4 ft tall when I received it via mail order many years back and had flowered that same year. I had grown it for about three years in a large pot and stored in the cold room for winter and then it was planted at the new place. 'Blue Moon' wisteria definitely requires pampering in our climate and not something I'd recommend to those not up for the challenge.

I've only kept buddleia 'Pink Delight' and it's doing better this year than last.

Another hardy wisteria is Aunt Dee. I happened to see it at a fall clearance, sitting alone and looking neglected, so I made the purchase. Unfortunately, the evergreens and bushes kept me so busy with my short planting time that I forgot about the little wisteria pot. It looked dried out by the end of the growing season, so I left it out by the fence, not having the heart to throw it into the trash. Spring came, I was certain that it is now dead and that I wouldn't feel guilty throwing it away. Upon closer inspection, though, the main stalk (perhaps 3/4 of a pencil size) seemed to have green underneath while the other two tiny vines were completely dry. I pruned it all down to about 6" and now it's growing like mad! I am so impressed with its hardiness... surviving a MN winter while still left sitting in its original 7" pot... that I am now pampering it. I hope it won't take too many years to flower. Nevertheless, it is a keeper just for its gorgeous leaves and amazing resiliency!

There are other new hardier wisterias. Newly developed Summer Cascade is claimed to be the hardiest of them all by Growing Shrubs and Small Trees in Cold CLimates by Debbie Lonnee, Nancy Rose, Don Selinger, John Whitman. Another, hardier than Blue Moon but not as hardy as Summer Cascade is Carol Mackii which is a white variety. I cannot find a source yet, probably next year as they are very new.

I wonder if there are any experts out there who could tell me if it were possible to cross the Wisteria frutescens var macrostchya (Blue Moon, etc, types) with Wisteria sinensis or florabunda to improve fragrance and length of racaeme? I would love to know if they were breeding compatable!

Hello iowagirl2 ... Thank you for mentioning of the new wisteria varieties. Apparently, from my experience and that of others, summers on the Canadian prairie are too short for wisteria to harden off prior to the onset of cold and thus sustain substantial or fatal winterkill. I've heard some folks claiming firsthand experience of seeing large thriving vines on the prairie, though such has not been substantiated to myself or have proven to be a different type of vine altogether.

As for the hybridization between different species of wisteria, I can only speculate that such is possible, though such a question posted in a warmer zone forum will likely yield your correct answer. Thanks again for popping in, I just might now be on the outlook for a 'Summer Cascade' wisteria to pamper :).